>There's no upside for an individual in consuming their first cigarette https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6018192/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/

>There's no upside for an individual in consuming their first cigarette https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6018192/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6018192/ >Preclinical models and human studies have demonstrated that nicotine has cognitive-enhancing effects. Attention, working memory, fine motor skills and episodic memory functions are particularly sensitive to nicotine’s effects. Recent studies have demonstrated that the α4, β2, and α7 subunits of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) participate in the cognitive-enhancing effects of nicotine. Imaging studies have been instrumental in identifying brain regions where nicotine is active, and research on the dynamics of large-scale networks after activation by, or withdrawal from, nicotine hold promise for improved understanding of the complex actions of nicotine on human cognition. Not that I advocate for smoking, or that I think it needs to be justified with some kind of 'benefit' to not be outlawed, but one could argue it does have demonstrable cognitive effects that some find desirable. Even if it didn't, some people just find it enjoyable and don't give a shit about the health effects. Given these facts we could replace the word 'cigarettes' in your post with 'coffee' and it'd make just as much sense, but that's a drug you (probably) find enjoyable personally so we won't be seeing any calls for criminalizing that any time soon.